Reviews

Lifted or The Story is in the Soil....

Who
Conor Oberst, a twenty-two-year-old cult hero from Omaha, Nebraska, who comes on like a foxy young Bob Dylan.

Sound
Stately, heartbreaking tales of romance, religion and self-doubt scored for guitar, drums, flute, organ, violin and cello. Oberst's voice quavers and splinters in all the right places, not unlike the Cure's Robert Smith. On his last tour, Oberst had an all-girl backing band dressed in formalwear.

How He Spells Relief
For all the painful introspection of lyrics such as "Fuck my face/Fuck my name," Oberst is happiest when he's putting his thoughts on paper. "Whenever I've had serious writer's block, I feel almost physically sick," he says. "The closest I ever get to clarity of thinking is through writing. Besides that, I'm clueless all the time."

Look for
The fourth Bright Eyes album, Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, is due in August. With his other band, the more straightforward rock act Desaparecidos, Oberst released Read Music/Speak Spanish.